1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for lengthening a life span of a battery power supply in a portable appliance, and more particularly to improved power management.
2. Background of the Related Art
Many efforts have been made to develop multimedia and personal/notebook computers having various new functions. Such development has generally added new devices, increasing the total power consumption of the system. Many portable systems are optionally powered by batteries. Because power management of the new devices is inadequate in the related art, however, the life span of batteries powering such systems has been significantly reduced.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a power supply of a notebook computer according to the related art. In FIG. 1, a power supply of a notebook computer includes a DC (direct current) power supply output unit 11 outputting DC voltage V_DC supplied by either a battery source 15 or an AC source 16 and a AC/DC converter (not shown), a CPU(central processing unit) DC/DC converter 12 supplying a DC voltage required for driving a CPU 12A by converting a DC voltage V_DC outputted from the DC power supply output unit 11; a main DC/DC converter 13 supplying DC voltages required for driving devices 13A to 13N respectively by converting the DC voltage V_DC, and an LCD inverter 14 supplying an LCD driving voltage by converting the DC voltage V_DC.
When being supplied with an AC source 16, the DC power supply output unit 11 converts the AC source voltage into the DC voltage V_DC at a predetermined level and outputs the converted DC voltage V_DC. When the AC source 16 is disconnected, the DC power supply output unit 11 outputs the DC voltage V_DC from the battery 15.
The CPU DC/DC converter 12 (i.e., transformer) converts the DC voltage V_DC outputted from the DC power supply output unit 11 into a DC voltage required for driving the CPU 12A and outputs the converted DC voltage. The main DC/DC converter 13 converts the DC voltage outputted from the DC power supply output unit 11 into DC voltages required for driving the respective devices 13A to 13N installed in or connected to the notebook computer and outputs the converted DC voltages. The LCD inverter 14 generates a voltage required for the LCD by converting the DC voltage V_DC. As shown in FIG. 1, the related art power supply apparatus does not include an additional power supply management apparatus.
FIG. 2 illustrates a data entry table on a window screen according to the related art, where the power supply apparatus fails to have an additional power supply management apparatus for power saving but has a function of warning a user regarding the remaining capacity of a battery supply. As shown in FIG. 2, set up item 21 establishes whether a first alarm is outputted when the remaining capacity of the battery supply reaches a first predetermined level. A warning message of a shortage of the remaining capacity of the battery supply or an alarming sound is outputted on the basis of the set-up item 21 when the remaining capacity reaches the first predetermined level set up by the user. Another set-up item 22 as shown in FIG. 2 establishes whether a second alarm is outputted when the remaining capacity of the battery supply becomes below a second predetermined level. A warning message that a system power supply should be turned off immediately or an alarming sound is outputted on the basis of the set-up item 22 when the remaining battery capacity reaches the second predetermined level set up by the user. The battery alarm is not an effective power supply management technique. Instead, the battery alarm merely informs a user of the remaining capacity of the battery or stores the present status.
ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) is an open industry standard for APM (Advanced Power Management) in the related art. With ACPI, power is reduced when a PC (Personal Computer) is not operated. A system supporting ACPI checks activity of peripheral devices through the OS (operating system) to optimize power consumption status for ACPI compatible devices. However, APM fails to meet the user""s needs for active power supply management of peripheral devices attached to a PC that are not ACPI compatible. For instance, APM fails to consider compatibility of various communication tools that will be available for PCs in the near future.
Thus, systems in the related art are not sufficiently equipped with power supply management functions that can extend an operation time of a battery supply.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.
An object of the invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described hereinafter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a power saving apparatus in a portable appliance and power saving method thereof by proposing methods to a user for saving a present battery power supply when a remaining capacity of the battery power supply in a portable appliance such as a notebook computer becomes below a predetermined level.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a power saving apparatus in a portable appliance and power saving method thereof that interrupts power supply to less critical or user-sorted devices consuming power in the portable appliance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a power saving apparatus in a portable appliance and power saving method thereof that reduces a total power consumption of the portable appliance by disconnecting a power supply to certain devices according to a scheme selected or predetermined by a user.
In order to achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a power saving method in an appliance including inputting power management data into a user set up menu on a display in the appliance, outputting a control command to a micro-controller in accordance with the power management data, and executing the power control command of the micro-controller, wherein the execution includes disconnecting battery power from a selected one of a plurality of appliance devices.
To further achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied or broadly described, there is provided a power saving method in a portable appliance including checking respective systems in the portable appliance, displaying checked information for at least one of the respective systems in a user set-up menu on a screen when a remaining capacity of a battery is smaller than a first reference value set up previously by a user, outputting a control command to a micro-controller in accordance with power saving data input by a user on the user set-up menu, and executing a power saving program in accordance with the control command of the micro-controller.
To further achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, there is provided a power saving apparatus in an appliance including a DC power supply output unit that outputs a DC voltage of a predetermined level by converting an AC power supply or by converting a battery voltage, a main DC/DC converter that supplies a plurality of operating voltages to a corresponding plurality of devices by converting the DC voltage, and a plurality of power switches that selectively disconnect each of the plurality of devices selected by a user in order to carry out a power saving function, wherein the plurality of switches are controlled by a micro-controller.
To further achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, there is provided a power saving method in a portable appliance including a first step of displaying a user set-up menu for a power saving on a screen by checking respective systems in the portable appliance, a second step of outputting a control command to a micro-controller in accordance with power saving contents set up by a user on the user set-up menu, and a third step of executing a power saving program set up by the user in accordance with the control command of the micro-controller.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.